Day 8 - Back to Milwaukee

We managed to shower, pack everything up and get everything back to the rental car terminal.  We arrived, checked in, got through security and had an hour to ride the train around and around and around the airport just for fun!

Our flight was a bit delayed when we got back into Milwaukee due to some lightening strikes, but we all made it! It was a wonderful trip and we made memories that we will talk about for years and years to come, but we were glad to be back home!

Riding the bus from the rental car terminal!

On the plane all ready to go!  

loot from The Silos

Day 7 - Saying goodbye, a long car ride and Magnolia Farms!

It seemed like we had just gotten to Rockport, but before we knew it it was time to head back to Dallas to catch our flight early Thursday morning.  We woke up, packed up the viniman and met Great Ama and Great Papa for breakfast before we headed out.  From Rockport, it was a 6 hour drive to Dallas, which on top of two sleep-deprived boys and non-stop parenting on the go, I was worried how it would go to say the least!  Our trip was without any major hiccups and the boys did AMAZING!

A little over 2/3 of the way there, we were driving right by the Waco, Texas exit, which happens to be where the storefront, The Silos, for one of Liam and I's favorite HGTV shows, Fixer Upper is based!  So we stopped to stretch our legs and I was so excited!  I kind of figured it was a good excuse for shopping, but it turned out to be so much more!  There were food trucks, music, train tracks and astro turf for two very energetic boys to run around and play!  Jon enjoyed some coffee and soccer and I got shopping!  I wish we were closer so we could visit more often!  

We got into Dallas in time for dinner and a huge rainstorm!  That storm blew over and we made it to a hotel next to the airport!  We got the boys settled, repacked bags for the flight and tried to get some sleep before our day of travel the next day... 

 Take a close look... there are multiple roads heading in multiple directions with the same name... let's just say our drives often took a few turn arounds!

Day 6 - Ocean, Picnics and Playing

Day 6 was another amazing day!  We headed off to Port Aransas, which is an outer island between the Gulf and Bay!  The state highway has a ferry to get to the island, which was a delight for the boys.  We saw many, many pelicans from the ferry!  Even though it was cold, we had so much fun at the beach and the boys loved, loved, loved the water!  By the end we were wet, sandy and cold, but it was so worth it!  

We headed over to a park after a quick change of clothes to have a picnic lunch and play on the playground!  There were big ships passing right by the park and we got to see dolphins swimming by!  Amazing!

In the afternoon, we headed up to explore Corpus Christi, which turned out to be a very large city!  We played at the park and explored the neighborhoods by the Gulf!  

Day 5 - Family Time, Beach and Memories

We woke up and went right on over to Great Ama and Great Papa's house for breakfast!  We spent a lot of time relaxing, talking and playing!  We also visited the local beach that is right on the bay, which was cold and windy, but fun times playing in the sand and trying to find animals in the tide!

We finally made time for Evan to have a nap on day 5!  He did so well without any naps throughout the whole trip, but he needed to catch up on his sleep!

Jon caught a lizard!

Day 4 - Hit the road to Rockport!

On day 4, which happened to be Mommy's birthday, we started a meandering journey from Houston to Rockport.  We ended up on back roads, traveling by oil rigs, cattle, scrub bushes, small towns and wrong turns!  The boys did wonderfully in the car for the several hours and enjoyed the scenery :)

We found our house, found Great Ama and Great Papa's condo and relaxed!  We had Easter Birthday cake, found Easter baskets, spied lizards and played wooden vehicles!  It was so wonderful to be there and see my grandparents.  

We ended our day very tired with the boys having a sleepover together in the same bed!  It took a LONG time for them to fall asleep, but they slept well and loved being together!

Day 3 - Exploring Houston!

We had a whole day in Houston and boy did we explore!  We wanted to start our day at the Children's Museum and ended up having some time to explore a nearby park with amazing gardens!  There was a circular garden with a beautiful waterfall.  We explored just a small amount, but enjoyed the flowers, the turtle we spied, the beautiful trees, waterfall... such a great start to our day!

Then we headed to the Children's Museum where we had a blast playing with their outside water area!  Pipes to turn on and off, redirecting water everywhere, making currents and racing boats and just enjoying the weather!  We stayed quite awhile there and could have spent so much more time!  

Around lunch, we headed across town to the zoo, which was also situated in a beautiful park with a train circling around!  Parking took patience and luck, but we found a spot!  We ate lunch near a pond and spied fish, birds and people using paddle boats!  It was very busy, but we rented a stroller and explored a lot of the zoo!  Bald eagles, meerkats, reptiles and some more carousel rides!  We finished off our very busy day with a train ride around the beautiful park area, complete with different 'stations', a Mickey Mouse sighting and an electric commuter train sighting!  We ordered in pizza and collapsed at the end of that day!  The boys enjoyed winding down with some tv from their beds!